St. Mary's House - A writers Retreat Drawings and Ideas

These are the original drawings that I did for St. Mary's writers retreat.  They may be easier to see than the final boards that I have uploaded to the blog.  There is additional information on the final boards that is not on these drawings.  I've also included some commentary and thought process as to why I have laid the space out as I have. 

First floor plan.  The office is at the front of the building to the left.  The space can accommodate a conference table for 8 as well as an office/writing desk.  The living room is directly behind the office.  There are stairs up to a loft.  The Living space is large enough to accommodate intimate seating at the fireplace, a sitting area in the center of the room and a small space for dining for two.  The bedroom is at the back of the living space to create more privacy with an en-suite bathroom as well.  The kitchen connects the living room to the public reading room in the rear of the structure, far right.  This allows the kitchen to function for both spaces and also create a privacy gradient between public and private spaces.  The public reading room has been opened up to the outdoors with french doors and windows all around.  If possible a screen porch on the back would be ideal.  The reading space also has a built in desk for writing, chair storage, and a public bath.  The space can also be used for dining for larger crowds.

Second floor loft plan.  Writing loft is at the front of the house to the left.  The rear loft can act as secondary living, reflecting space, or additional sleep space if necessary.  The rear loft is open to the central portion of the public reading space and could be used as an elevated reading platform as well.

Section Elevation looking east.  Shows the Kitchen, office, living, reading and second floor loft spaces.

Section elevation from inside the public reading room looking south.  This shows how the ceiling is vaulted in the center and how the second story loft interacts with the space.  The writing desk is in the middle and kitchen door is on the right side. 

Section elevation from the living room looking north.  This shows how the second story loft interacts with the kitchen below as well as with the living space.  The window in the loft is 6' tall, the addition of a scale figure could have made the loft space more clear.

Elevation of the west wall.  The fireplace is central.  Book cases with storage underneath flank the fireplace and continue up to the ceiling of the loft which is 9'6".  Next to the book cases are the reflecting nooks.  These provide a space for writing and reading as well as additional seating when necessary.  Keeping this section of the space open from front to back maximizes light in the space.

Perspective of the public reading room.  This space is large enough to accommodate 40 individuals seated.

Living room looking west.  A two point perspective that shows how the stairs, loft, balcony seating area, and built ins work together.  Scale figure to the right shows the scale of the space and how open and high the ceilings are.

Living room looking back towards the kitchen on the left, bedroom in through the door on the right.  The kitchen is a galley style kitchen and connects the private quarters to the public reading room.  The allows the kitchen to function for bot public and private spaces while maintaining a privacy gradient for the more personal spaces.

Second floor loft looking south towards the front of the house.  This view shows another reflection nook and writing desk as well as more built ins for storage.  The addition of a scale figure would help show how an individual would interact with the space.  The distance to the top of the window from the floor is 6', and the distance to the top of the book case from the floor on the right is 5'5".

My original Parti for the project.  Reflect is the main concept.  Areas of reflection for the writer are key.  The environment is very muted and filled with earth tones.  The richness and life comes from how one lives in and utilizes the space.